Chess Game
by A-Quest-of-Scales
Summary: COMPLETE What happens when Raven is trapped in a room with the Titans worst enemy... and finds out she enjoys his company? RobxRaexSlade pairing. Sequel in progress
1. Chapter 1

Raven sat bolt upright. She didn't need a clock to tell her she was up early, back in Azarath she'd been taught how to rely on her own body rhythms and her internal clock had never let her down. Quietly she brushed her bed covers aside and walked over to her wardrobe. Without bothering to turn on the light she picked out a fresh cloak and fastened it over a clean leotard before she pulled on her knee high boots. Not making a sound she instinctively fell into her soul state of a large raven and phased to in front of a seemingly abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town.

She barely spared a glance at the neglected building as she walked in through the open side door and stood still for a moment, allowing her eyes to adjust from the darkness to the semi-lit inside. Her smile lasted for only an instant as she walked over to the plain wooden table in the centre of the floor and sat down on the closest of the medically clean, metal chairs. Her smile reappeared as she picked up the still hot cup of chamomile tea and sipped it. Perfect. She studied the chessboard in front of her. This time it was an elegant glass set, she had chosen the white pieces.

"Punctual as always Raven," commented a coldly emotionless voice as a figure detached itself from the shadows and sat opposite her. She nodded once to acknowledge his presence before her graceful hand reached out and moved one of the pawns, her cloak rustling in the silence before her opponent made his move. As they played Raven thought back to when this started two weeks ago…

Robin was slightly crouched in a battle stance with his bo-staff outstretched and his team behind him. He glared at the masked man in front of him.

"Slade… what do you want!" Behind the dual protection of his army of robots and his mask Slade smiled, he never got tired of the hatred in Robins voice as he asked that favourite question. In response to an unseen signal Slades robots attacked the Titans. With barely enough time to say his catch phrase of "Titans GO!" Robin leapt into action, his staff twirling as he disposed of every foe to come his way. Slade watched for a few seconds. The boy was improving… but then what else could he expect from the only one worthy of becoming his apprentice.

Robins cry of rage alerted the others as he watched his nemesis walk out of the large hall but with the robots demanding all his attention he couldn't do anything. Raven immediately reacted. Leaving Cyborg to cover her with his canon she stopped fighting and rose a few feet into the air. With her familiar chant of "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," and a sweep of her arms all of the robots were encased in black and white energy and thrown against the walls, allowing her and her team-mates to pursue the worst criminal they had ever encountered… and the one they could never capture.

Too caught in the moment to compliment the young sorceress, Robin led his team to the hallway Slade had disappeared down. Only to find it divided into five different paths. Without a word the team split up, Raven taking the furthest corridor to the left as her friends ran, or flew, down the others. Raven levitated to gain speed but she couldn't hear or see any one ahead of her in the brightly lit, white hallway, although it did turn a corner every ten metres. She sighed to herself, she was sure Slade hadn't taken this path but she'd follow it to the end nonetheless.

As she turned yet another corner in this single pathed labyrinth she stopped and stared at what lay ahead. So much for no choice, she muttered to herself as she looked at the two corridors facing her. Which way… wait. Raven swung to face the right hand one. She could've sworn she'd felt a glimmer of emotion from down that way… maybe she _had_ picked the right corridor, she thought as she quickly flew down her choice. Robin would hate that, she smiled as she slowed down slightly. There was no use flying into a trap, she'd rather let Slade escape again than kill herself by not showing enough caution. After all this was one of _Slades_ hideouts, there was no telling what were in these halls.

Raven came to a halt as the corridor ended in a wall of white. That was odd, she'd been sure… she let herself drop to the ground and slowly walked over to the wall, her hands outstretched. As her pale grey fingers touched the wall she heard a click and hastily backed away. More clicking, all of it coming from the wall… this wasn't good… Raven had the feeling she'd just activated a trap. Suddenly a black form emerged from the adjacent wall and shoved her towards the opposite one. She gasped in surprise as instead of slamming against a solid surface she was pushed into a room. She fell to the floor as Slade slammed the door shut before an explosion filled the corridor. Slade sighed before turning to face the teenager still lying on the floor where he had thrown her.

"Did you have to do that?" Raven thought she detected a hint of annoyance in his voice. In that instant Raven stood up and prepared for battle. Instead of imitating her move Slade sighed once more.

"Raven… these walls are not only bomb proof, they block all communication and are also designed to repel magic. Due to your actions we are _both_ now trapped in an empty room. As I have no escape route I have no wish to fight you and risk Dr. lights fate," Slade slowly moved away from the door and, careful not to provoke her or make any move she could consider hostile, he walked over to the closest wall and sat down with his legs crossed. "As we may be in here for some time I suggest we make the most of it. I'll stay on my side if you stay on yours," he finished, watching her reaction. As he guessed Raven immediately attempted to phase through the floor… with no luck.

Not letting her guard down she slowly backed away from him to the opposite wall, copying his actions as she sat down.

Raven risked looking away from Slade long enough to pull out her titans communicator. Static. Apparently he'd been telling the truth, but then she already knew that. Sometimes being an empath was useful, it meant that no one could lie to her face to face. The young sorceress watched the blackly armoured warrior across from her for a few minutes before trusting herself to speak in her usual monotone.

"I thought you always had an escape plan," Slades eye opened as he looked at the young sorceress, as they were going to be here for a long time he decided to not be entirely antisocial.

"Not always. This was definitely not part of any of my plans." Raven studied Slades motionless form for a few minutes before continuing the conversation.

"Why did you push me out of the blast?"

"I was merely in a hollow covered by a hologram. You were between me and safety," Slade left it at that, not caring to explain that although he had no trouble murdering anyone in his way he rarely let anyone die if it didn't benefit him.

They allowed the silence to continue for a while before Raven decided to establish what the plan was…

"Is the plan what I think it is?"

"If you mean waiting for your friends to get fed up chasing shadows in my hideout, regroup, discover they can't find you and decide to come looking then yes, it is." Raven nodded at Slades rather sarcastic response. They were going to be here a long time…

THREE HOURS LATER… … …

Raven opened one eye slightly as she continued her chanting. She saw Slade was also in a meditative pose. She closed her eye and continued meditating a few feet off the ground, her cloak mere millimetres from the floor. Who knew Slade meditated? She supposed she shouldn't be surprised, it did explain how he could hide his presence from her and why his emotions rarely ever showed through. As her mind started to empty once more she wondered if her friends where searching for her yet…

FIVE HOURS LATER… …

Raven was bored, very bored. Despite their meditation she could feel herself getting more and more frustrated, and felt Slades annoyance at the tedium as well. She concentrated on her breathing, there was no way she was going to relent enough to try and start a conversation with _Slade_. No way…

ONE HOUR LATER…

"I've never heard of Azarath before…"

Raven nodded, "I'm not surprised, very few have. They left this realm many hundreds of years ago, you have to search through some very fragile scrolls to find any reference to it,"

"Is your colouring common there?"

"Not really…"

THREE HOURS LATER… … …

Raven sighed, their conversation had drifted to a halt over an hour ago. Mostly due to neither of them wanting to reveal very much of themselves and the fact that despite rather similar tastes in literature neither of them had much to say to the other. What were you meant to say to someone whom you were sworn enemies with?

TWO HOURS LATER… …

Slade felt his eye being drawn to the only non-living thing in the otherwise featureless room. Tucked in the corner, as if it had been thrown there by some errant child, was a rather shabby cardboard box. Inside was a simple wooden chess set. He didn't even know how it had gotten into this room, he never even came to this section normally. His gaze shifted to Raven, he noted how she was also staring at the box. Her eyes met his for a second before both of them shook their heads slightly. They weren't that desperate… not yet…

ONE HOUR LATER…

"Check," came Ravens monotone voice.

By unspoken arrangement they had both stayed on their previously agreed sides of the room, the chessboard placed exactly in the centre with the two recluses sitting cross-legged. To his surprise, Slade was enjoying himself. He had swiftly realised that although she relied on magic in battle Raven was a very analytical thinker, something he had never realised before. He had thought she relied on intuition alone but she was definitely an accomplished chess player. Behind his mask Slade smiled slightly as he moved his bishop to take her castle and ending the check. If he'd looked up he would have seen an almost identical smile on her face as they both carefully examined the board, executing skilful attacks and counter attacks.

TWO HOURS LATER…

Slade stared at the board and carefully moved his Queen into position before saying the word to end the game,

"Checkmate,"

Raven nodded as the both of them started to reposition their pieces. They had already played four games and so far it was a draw. Although she had been hesitant to admit it at first Raven was having more fun than she had in a very long time. There was nothing better than a contest of strategy, she could remember long nights back on Azarath playing similar games with the priests. One of the few times in her childhood when it hadn't mattered that she was so different. Slade was a worthy opponent, his attention to detail, the very thing that made him so dangerous as a criminal, made every move important. She couldn't play these games with her friends, Starfire wasn't competitive enough, Beast Boy could never think more than two moves ahead, Cyborg just had no interest and Robin… well he was too busy either training or obsessing about Slade. Rather ironic really.

Ravens grey hand paused, hovering above the board… had she heard something? She looked towards the door. There it was again… Raven ran over to the door.

"IN HERE!" her normally flat voice raised as loud as possible.

"… Raven?" She recognised that voice, faint though it was.

"Cyborg! I'm in here!" The relief in Ravens voice at being found was evident.

"Guys! She's over here!" Raven heard the rest of the group hurry over to the door. She heard Robins voice,

"Raven? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine but I can't use my powers on the walls,"

"You sure you're ok?" Raven rolled her eyes at Beast Boys question.

"Beast Boy, for the last seventeen hours I've been trapped in a room with Slade…"

"SLADE!"

"Yes Robin,"

"Raven has he hurt you?"

For the first time Slade spoke through the door in his normal icy tone.

"Robin I'm psychotic not suicidal. There is a difference," Raven rolled her eyes at the boy wonders hiss.

"He hasn't laid a finger on me Robin. Now can you please get me out of this place?"

"Sure thing Rae!" came Cyborgs reply as he aimed his sonic canon at the door.

"I really wouldn't recommend that," commented an exasperated Slade.

"You shut up!" Robin almost growled at him.

The next thing Slade and Raven heard was four distinct yelps as Cys weapon ricocheted off the walls, only just missing the Titans as it made it's way down the blackened corridor. Slade withheld a small laugh at the sound and Raven sighed.

"Now we've established your weapons won't work let's try something else shall we?" Slade listened to Robins muttered curses for a few seconds before continuing. "Good. Now to your left of the door is a key pad…"

"What door?"

"There's a hologram hiding it, something I believe you're familiar with Robin," replied Slade, referring to Robins stint as Red X. Robins mutterings became more graphic. "The code is 2 9 T 1 L G F,"

Raven was getting worried at this turn of events, why was Slade being so helpful? And why was he standing at the far end of the room?

"Wait until the red light disappears and then press the enter button…" Robin did as instructed and the door separating her and her friends opened… as did the unseen one next to Slade. Without a word Slade walked out of the room as Robin charged in, almost hitting the door as it shut behind Slade.

The rest of the team turned their attention to…

"RAVEN!" Starfire gave her friend one of her more bone crushing hugs. "We are all very glad you are unharmed! We searched for many hours!" Star reluctantly let go as Cyborg pointed out Ravens need of oxygen… only to pull her into a super human hug himself. Raven smiled as he pulled away.

"Yeah girl, you had us worried,"

"I knew we'd find you,"

Robin turned from the closed door to his team-mate and grinned. Even though Slade had escaped, again, he was more than happy to find out she was ok, he would have killed Slade if anything happened to Raven. He caught her pleading look.

"Guys I think we should take Raven home, she has to be hungry by now," Raven nodded, grateful at her friends interruption as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"… and tired. I was too afraid to sleep…" the exhausted Raven fell into her surrogate big brothers arms. Cyborg smiled as he picked her up, it was good to have her back.

"Is friend Raven going to be alright?"

Robin nodded, "she'll be fine Star. She's just tired, let's get her home."

"Checkmate," Raven said as she looked up from the board and into the orange and black mask. Slade watched her stand.

"Same time tomorrow then Raven?" he asked as she faintly smiled at him.

"Of course…" her face turned back to her normal emotionless pretence as Slade also stood. "This only lasts until the next time you attack the Titans Slade," he smiled beneath the mask.

"Then I'll have to make sure our paths don't cross for a very long time. I'd hate to lose such a bewitching chess partner," Slade saw the small smile on her face as she blushed slightly and walked out the door. He watched her go before clearing away the chess set and her mug. He was having fun in their little tournaments and started to look forward to the next night. The armoured villain walked over to the pile of papers detailing every professional match of chess on public record. He was always competitive, Slade smiled to himself thinking of their last game… strangely he didn't mind when Raven won…


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: Originally this was going to be a one-shot but I kinda had a bet on with my sister that no one would review and if more than five people did then I would continue (I hate keeping my word). Not that I mind... this story just won't leave me alone... So a big thank you to...**

**Omnidolor- _You have no idea how much it means to me that my first ever reveiwer was as insightful about my writing as you_**

**GIRL IN STORY- _Thank you! That's possibly the greatest compliment I could have got_**

**AinoMinako- _It was meant to be_**

**cheeseshirt- _Sarcasm rocks!_**

**evilsangle- _thank you_**

**Setsuna Mudo- _more bonding will come_**

**PsychoMindGames-_'A Quest of Scales takes a bow'_**

**Disclaimer - Despite what the blue furry monkey people from Heshreel 7 may have told you I do NOT own the Teen Titans! And if you actually listen to those guys you are seriously weird (no offence to any blue furry monkey people or any one from Heshreel 7)**

* * *

Throughout the Tower the alarms blared and lights flashed red. The Titans ran from their respective rooms… all but one… 

In the living room Robin was leaning over a computer screen, quickly typing the instructions he had memorised to find out the cause and location of the disturbance. He barely looked up as he heard two other sets of footsteps, Cyborg and BeastBoy, the only others that couldn't fly. He knew that his team was awaiting instructions and confidently started to give out his orders before turning around.

"Titans! There's a robbery at the north-east jewellery district…" The Boy Wonders voice trailed to a halt as he realised one of his friends were missing. "Where's Raven?" The others swiftly turned around as if expecting her to walk through the door. Cyborg frowned, "Weird! She's one of the first here…"

With a worried expression behind his mask Robin pulled out his communicator.

"Raven? Raven where are you?" For the instant before she answered Robin felt panic flow through his veins. Which disappeared as soon as the ivory skinned sorceresses face appeared on screen, her trademark emotionless façade in place.

"Robin. Where's the trouble?" came her voice, with a suggestion of annoyance in her otherwise normal monotone. Robin felt himself answer automatically to her query.

"Castle Lane, North-East…" his voice stopped as he once more assessed the situation. "Raven where are you?" Robin almost winced as he heard the plea in his voice. Her eyebrow rose at his question before sarcastically replying.

"I do know people out of the Titans Robin… I'll meet you there," she cut of the call.

Robin turned to his team and shrugged, it was Raven and he didn't have tine to press the matter. "Let's get going."

As they walked out the door Beast Boy whispered to Cyborg, "Dude did she tell you about sneaking off?"

Cyborg shook his head unconcerned. Raven was smart enough to take care of herself and if she needed help she would've talked to him about it… he hesitated for a second. Wouldn't she?

* * *

Slade rose from his chair as Raven started to apologise. 

"We'll have to finish the game tomorrow," Raven nodded as she prepared to phase out of the room. "Have fun," before she fell into her soul self Raven graced him with a small smile.

"Till tomorrow then," Slade smiled to himself as he collected her cup but left the game as it was. He paused as a thought entered his mind unbidden. What if she got hurt? The villain roughly pushed such thoughts out of his head. Raven was strong and even if she was injured she could heal herself… he almost jumped as a crash echoed throughout the room and prepared for the oncoming attack as he looked around. There was no one there… he looked at his feet. The mug was shattered, her undrunk tea pouring over the floor.

* * *

In an elegant twirl of his staff Robin sent the thug flying against the wall. He smiled slightly in satisfaction as he saw the thief slam against the wall and pass out. Perfect. He spun to see how his teammates were doing. Raven had just finished tying up one of the petty crooks with a lamppost, Cyborg was still blasting at two of them and was in no hurry to finish the job. Starfire and Beast Boy were watching from the sidelines, their victims already knocked out. Six normal criminals were no match for the Teen Titans, this was target practice… Robin shook his head as Cyborg took out the remaining crooks and shouted his catchphrase. 

"Booyah!"

Robin started to walk towards the rest of the team as Raven used her telekinesis to bring the unconscious thugs together… or mostly unconscious…

"I told you we should've listened to Slade…" At the sound of his arch-nemesis's name Robin turned, grabbing the floating thug out of Ravens magic he slammed the attempted thief against a wall.

"What? What did Slade tell you?" Behind his mask Robin glared at the criminal, who obviously wasn't a complete imbecile from the way he flinched at the teenagers hostility.

"N-nnoo… he'll kill me…" Robin took a step back allowing the thug to fall to the floor, the man whimpered as the teenager extended his staff and pointed it at the villains throat in one smooth, calculatingly threatening move.

"Slade isn't here right now… I AM!" Robins voice had turned cold, measured… and far more threatening because of it. His friends nervously glanced at each other… they all knew who that tone reminded them of… Slade.

"… please don't hurt me!" the man was reduced to pure terror as Robins voice struck a chord that he thought only Slade could. The teenager wasn't satisfied with breaking the guy and repeated his question in an even colder cadence.

"Tell me what Slade told you…" the Boy Wonder left the 'or else' unsaid, his instinctive skill at threats not going unnoticed by the other Titans. The man completely broke, no longer caring that he had three feet height and a lot of muscle over the teen hero.

"H-he sent out a message… the whole community…" Robin shook his head dismissing the mans attempt to please him with excess information.

"What did he say?" Robins voice was barely a whisper but the thug shuddered at the anger behind it.

"He said that if anyone did anything between 4 and 6 in the morning they'd answer to him… e-especially if they attracted the Titans attention… no one who's anyone goes against that big shot but we thought… if we're careful… you wouldn't get called and he wouldn't get angry…" the criminal continued to blabber on only stopping at Robins curt gesture to stop.

"When did he say this?" His voice began to return to normal as he gained the information he wanted. Sensing this the gauy began to relax, believing for the first time that he might survive this interview.

"About a week ago I think…"

"You think?" The thug squealed from Robins anger at his vague answer and hastily tried to repair the damage.

"A week! It was a week ago! Please don't hurt me!" Robin stood up and with drew his staff. Without looking at his horrified friends he started to walk away from the crime scene, before he'd gotten a few steps he remembered his duties and called back instructions to his second-in-command over his shoulder.

"Cy take these guys to jail," the teen nodded at his friend and screwed up his courage enough to ask the million-dollar question…

"What about you man?" Robin walked over to where his red stood balanced on its kickstand and in one practised move threw himself over it and turned it on. He other circumstances he may have smiled at the engines immediate roar but this time merely scowled, not even bothering to turn round at Cyborgs concern.

"I need to find out what's so important about the early morning." He answered in a monotone that could have rivalled Ravens. Alas the only team member foolish enough to argue with Robin in this mood spoke up…

"Dude it's Slade!" came Beast Boys emotion fuelled cry. Cy winced as Robin slowly put on his helmet, his voice clearly cutting through both the headgear and the roar of his motorbike in a voice holding only the merest of threats.

"So?" Even Beast Boy could take a hint some times and nervously laughed with one hand running through his hair.

"ehh… good luck?"

Robin didn't bother to answer and tore along the street, his motorbike rearing up on its back wheel as the boy wonder recklessly accelerated.

Cyborg turned to the dark empathy, his pleading clear in his one human eye. She nodded once,

"I'll make sure he gets home," Raven smiled slightly at her friends' obvious relief. "Don't worry…"

* * *

Despite the fact that her soul-self didn't have lungs Raven sighed. She'd been watching Robin ride around on his motorbike down roads she'd never seen before for the last hour and she was getting very fed up of watching the Boy Wonder aimlessly race through half of Jump City as if Slade was just around the next corner. She winced at that thought, she knew exactly where Slade was… maybe she should tell her friends? No they'd never understand. She just needed to spend some time in company that wasn't raging with hormone-induced emotions, someone that understood silence wasn't always bad… granted it was a little weird that someone was Slade but… Raven was abruptly pulled out of her thoughts as she know longer heard the familiar roar of Robins motorbike beneath her. 

Franticly she looked around, hoping that she hadn't lost him in her reverie. She was startled to find they were no longer in the city and almost turned back before she spotted Robin by the side of the road. She phased down to the field gate he was leaning against. Robin didn't even glance in her direction and stared up at the barely visible stars. She walked over to his side waited for him to start talking. 

"Are you going to stop following me?" Raven risked a glance at her friend. His face seemed almost peaceful as he starred up at the night sky but she knew him far too well to miss the storm of emotions behind his words. Without thinking she placed her hand on his shoulder and felt him relax slightly at the comfort he so desperately needed.

"What's wrong Robin?"

"Raven…" she felt his pain, shame, hatred and anger as it poured off him in waves. Gently she encouraged him.

"Yes?"

"Sometimes…" Robin drifted off once more,

"Robin I'm here, you can talk to me." Raven kept her voice soft as she berated him for not trusting her. Robin continued to stare at the sky, his expression not changing as his voice faltered.

"…sometimes I think I'm turning into that bastard…"

Raven understood. She knew what it was like to fear you were turning into someone you hated. She also knew what Robin was really afraid of and how to reassure him.

"Robin we are your friends. We care about you. Nothing will change that," the two teenagers stood for a few minutes in silence. Till Ravens internal clock informed her of the time. It was getting late… the others would start to worry… The young sorceress glanced at Robin

"Do I need to drag you home?" Robin winced as he remembered the reason Raven had followed him here and hung his head in shame.

"… was I that bad?"

Raven gently shook her head, there was no need to tell him who he had resembled when he was angry... especially after his confession.

"They worry too much…" For the first time in their conversation Robin looked at her, feeling some of his confidence creep back into his spirit at the sight of her amethyst eyes. He smiled as a thought crossed his mind… and walked over to his bike.

"Want a ride home?" Raven paused, if she said yes then she could ensure he would make it home without any possibility of him losing her... on the other hand she'd seen him drive that thing...

Robin grinned beneath his helmet at Ravens hesitation, his confident facade once more in place. He knew exactly how to make her agree…

"I promise I won't go too fast…" Raven scowled. How dare that _mortal _imply she was afraid!

Without thinking she stormed over to the bike and sat down behind him keeping her arms carefully by her sides. Robins grinned widened beneath his helmet as they sped away. Instinctively Raven curled her arms round Robins chest to stop from falling off. She tensed as she realised who she had grabbed… then relaxed, letting her head fall against his back as she realised she trusted him to get them home. Robin felt the days tension drain from him as the girl behind him relaxed.

All thoughts of hatred slowly left as the universe shrank to just the two birds, both of them perfectly content for one of the few times in either of their tragic lives. Both at ease in each others company, the only sounds the dual roar of motor and wind, both allowing the walls surrounding them to fall, leaving them unguarded, defenceless and neither caring... the ride home didn't last long enough for either of them…


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: Wow... um... to all you delightfully delirious people who like my story... THANKS! Don't start taking those pills, at least not till after you've reviewed this chapter ok? Apologies to every one reading this, I hate it when authors don't update regularly but I have an excuse! Due to obsessive behaviour I am only allowed on the computor every other day... or when no one's paying attention... **

**IMPORTANT: IF ANY ONE GOES OUT OF CHARACTER PLEASE TELL ME! CHANCES ARE I HAVEN'T NOTICED **

**Anyway thank you to:**

**AinoMinako - _You weren't at all harsh... but thanks,_**

**evilsangle - _Wait for it! I hope you like it_**

**white Wolf Guardian - _Glad you've enjoyed it thus far,_**

**sillymail - _Thank you, I hope you like this chapter too_**

**babal002u -_ I can't wait either_**

**cheeseshirt - _Agreed_**

**xdire.vixenx - _I'm on British TV so I haven't seen Season 4 yet... but I've always though Slade was cool_**

**TheSkeet - _Thank you, I do so like flattery_**

**Angel Caida - _Enjoy..._**

**whitedarkness - _Thankyou and doing so_**

**ShadowVixen - _I hope I am..._**

**Al the Pirate - _Me too... I hope I do well..._**

**Sugarhighnutcase - _(like the name) I think so too, but it's mainly RaexSlade at the moment (I don't honestly know who it's going to be)_**

**DragonStar - _Aww shucks. You have me blushing..._**

**Mad Pierrot Le Fou - _Thank you! Personally Slade is one of my favourite characters and I'm praying I don't ruin it. I too hate it when they go OOC... Once again thanks, you've just given me an idea..._**

**Firedoll22 - _I can but try, I'm very glad you're enjoying this so far_**

**DarkJamAB -_Yep, Slade is cool_**

**Barar Midori Zeco - _I'm also glad I lost the bet, this is rather fun, and trust me any review is very encouraging_**

**Shedevil1416 - _Thanks, I'm doing so now,_**

**Disclaimer: All together now... I don't own the Teen Titans so don't kill/maim/sue me ok?**

* * *

Despite the Slade incident last night the Titans were having a very normal day. Starfire was experimenting with new food ingredients and trying to incorporate them into a Tameranian meal… no one was brave enough to go near her in case she asked their opinion on the toxic sludge. Robin was training, something every one was relieved about. They knew from experience that Robin attacking several punching bags was far better than Robin going psychotically obsessive and trying to track down the criminal mastermind that was Slade. Of course Raven was on the roof reading one of her books and Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing a new computer game on the gigantic TV in the living room. 

"You little grass stain! There's no way you can beat me!"

"That's what you think tin-man! No one can defeat the master of kung fu!"

Apparently it was a fighting game…

"And Cyborg sees his opening! He uses a double kick combo and… YES! I win little man!"

"Dude! No fair!" the two titans familiar ranting of winner and loser continued as the empath of the Tower entered the room, hovering a few inches above the ground as she made her way to the kitchen and her herbal tea, still reading her book… 'An Experts Guide to Chess Strategy'.

Raven looked up sharply as the smell reached her nose mere seconds before her friend realised she'd entered the kitchen

"Raven!" for a panicked second the sorceress considered fleeing before she realised her friend didn't have any suspicious materials in hand for taste testing. The empath shut her book and resignedly replied.

"Hello Starfire," the alien seemed depressed… or at least _slightly _less hyper than normal…

"Friend we have used all our supply of sauce of Tabasco!" Raven internally winced as she saw the bowl of purple sludge on the counter and realised where the five bottles had gone, "And I must travel to the store of food to purchase more, will you accompany me?"

"Sure but I want a cup of tea first," neither of the girls noticed the boys freeze as her words reached them. The excitable alien squealed in delight.

"Glorious! I shall prepare for our visit immediately," replied Starfire as she flew out of the room to get changed, leaving Raven waiting for her tea to boil. From behind the couch Cy and BB stared at her. The terrified shape shifter spoke first in a hushed whisper.

"Dude… Raven's been acting really weird lately…" the bionic teenager answered in the same tone, carefully keeping the sorceress in sight in case something even stranger happened

"Yeah, like she's happy…"

"Ya think it's got something to do with her sneaking off last night?"

"Dunno… maybe. But where would she go?" Beast Boy nodded Raven only really left the tower on missions or if the group dragged her out. She'd need someone to show her around…

"D'ya think…?" a shocked Cyborg turned to his friend as the same thoughts flew threw his mind.

"Nah… she can't,"

"But Dude?"

"Raven have a boyfriend? She'd say something…"

"I dunno… you know Rae likes her privacy. Maybe she likes the secrecy…" Cy stared at his friend in astonishment. Beast Boy had said something intelligent… not that it would last he knew as he saw a familiar light shine in his green eyes. "Or maybe he's…" Cyborg slapped him round the head before he said something really stupid…er than normal

As Beast Boy and Cyborg were talking about Ravens odd behaviour, Robin had finished his workout and walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He paused as he spotted the sorceress waiting for her water to boil for her tea and smiled.

"Hey Rae,"

She nodded once in his direction to acknowledge his existence before turning back to the stubbornly unboiled kettle.

"Robin,"

"I wanted to say thanks for last night,"

"You're my friend Robin. I'm just glad you listened,"

"Still, it meant a lot to me." Raven didn't respond as the kettle boiled and she started to go through the familiar motions of making the perfect cup of herbal tea. Robin desperately searched for a topic, something that would keep her from leaving after she'd made her tea, something that would let him keep talking to her… His detective mind clicked, where had she been last night?

Raven sensed the question before he asked it and calmly avoided it in her perfect monotone.

"Robin one of the reasons I consider you a friend is your respect for my privacy. You never pry and that means a lot to me. Anything I can do in return I'll gladly do. Last night you merely needed someone to talk to and a bit of common sense."

Raven glided out of the kitchen with her tea in hand… Robin had the sneaking suspicion he'd just been blown off for something he hadn't even asked.

* * *

"Hey man!" Robin stopped his martial arts routine to face his friend. 

"Hi Cy," Robin took one look at the serious, slightly worried expression in his friends eye and sighed. He already knew where this was going.

Cyborg started first, "Rob…" and was promptly interrupted by the Boy Wonder.

"Look if it's about last night..." Robin let his sentence trail off as he saw the confused look on Cyborgs face.

"Uh no… but if you wanna talk..."

The teenage martial artist quickly interrupted him. He really didn't want a lecture. "What were you going to talk about?"

"You talked to Rae right?"

"Yeah…"

"Did she tell you where she was last night?"

"No."

"Oh…"

"Cy it's Raven, she can take care of herself,"

"I know, I know. It's just…"

"What?"

"Well... BB had this really weird idea and I was wondering if she'd said anything to you…"

"What did Beast Boy say?"

"Maybe Rae was out last night... on a date?"

"No! She'd have told us…"

"That's what I said… never mind man…"

Robin watched as his friend walked out of the gymn.

* * *

"It's a good story," 

"I never thought of you as a closet romantic Raven," Slade hid his amusement as the sorceress looked up from the marble chessboard to glare at him, one eyebrow raised.

"I enjoy the description," Slade held her gaze for a few seconds before relenting.

" 'The rain held off, though lightning flickered round the ranges all night, turning the clouds indigo, and the full summer foliage of the forests surrounded us…' " a curious expression crossed the sorceress emotionless façade as she recognized the quote from 'Across the Nightingale Floor'.

" …'in a sea of green…' You've read it?" Slade merely inclined his head in a silent affirmative.

"I also have copies of the rest of the Otori trilogy if you wish to read them?"

"Thank you," Her smile was brief, a stranger would never have caught the quick upturn twist of her lips, but Slade was watching.

They both turned their attention back to their game, allowing the silence to deepen. Despite their expert playing both of them were starting to lose interest in the game… not that either of them would suggest stopping. Their conversations had lasted slightly longer with each game and although neither of them would admit it… the company was far more pleasant than the competition…

"Slade?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you become a villain?"

"… it's a long story,"

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes, but only if you wish to tell,"

"Very well… Several years ago, when I was still quite young, my parents died. I had no other family and so decided to enter the army. As I was only 15 I had to lie to get in… but that wasn't very hard. Due to natural aptitude I rose quickly through the ranks, becoming one of the most highly decorated soldiers living at a very young age. One day, when I was 19, I volunteered to be part of a highly secret military experiment to create a super soldier. The experiment was a success, resulting in increased strength, agility, endurance and raising my intelligence from above normal to genius. However it had one major flaw… it drove me almost completely insane,"

"Almost?"

"Yes, there was still a flicker of me left. I was honorably discharged, with my career gone I would have broken down if it wasn't for one thing…"

"Yes?"

"… Addie… she was my wife, for two years by that point. She kept me sane… and mostly human, intensive meditation and combat training gave me control and I eventually learned how to live with my new condition… Due to its similarity to my old life I took up the role of mercenary… but out of respect of Adeline limited myself to a rather strict moral code. I never killed any who were guilty of anything less than murder… whether that's why people wanted them dead or not. One day someone discovered who I was and broke into our house. She was strong. Even though the attacker was professional she gravely injured him… but not before she was stabbed…"

"Did she die?"

"Not then… although I sometimes wish she had… I found her in the hallway. She had lost a lot of blood but was otherwise fine. It would've taken too long to take her to a hospital and I had a fully operational infirmary in the house. As we shared a blood type I gave her as much of my blood as I could spare… probably a bit more, and bandaged her wounds. A few days later she woke up… I had accounted for almost everything except…" Raven gasped as she saw his mistake.

"Your blood…"

"The chemicals still present had the same effect on her as they had on me. Unfortunately I was not as nurturing as she'd been, she went completely insane… By that point she was no longer the woman I loved… she was paranoid… barely recognized me… there was a struggle. She had healed quickly and was as strong and agile as me… and she had no inhibitions about killing me.

She managed to get to the weapons cabinet and loaded the first pistol to hand. I was still trying to subdue her and gave her the opportunity she needed… one shot… somehow she missed… enough to save my life, leaving me with a badly scarred face and missing my right eye… I don't quite remember what happened next but when I came to Addie was dead, her blood on my hands… after that very little held meaning for me. I stopped being a mercenary. Instead I decided to work for myself… hence the criminal you see before you." For the first time in his confession Slade looked up at Raven… and saw a single tear flow from her eye. In one swift movement he caught it, his curled fingers pressed against her ivory cheek for mere seconds before withdrawing, stunned at his impetuous action. He looked into her hypnotic violet eyes, expecting any emotions but what he saw. She knew what it was like to kill someone you loved without memory… she understood…

"Who?" Raven didn't hesitate.

"My mother, there was a ceremony to cleanse my soul. It didn't work but it did cause me more pain than I ever believed possible… when the pain receded my mother, my mentor and a dozen other priests… every one who had ever shown me any kindness… After that I came to Earth, my mothers birthplace, in a futile attempt to redeem myself…"

"It wasn't your fault…"

"Or yours… but even knowing that doesn't stop the pain,"

"No." The two sat for a moment, each thankful for the others company before Raven broke the silence with a small smile.

"So… how old are you now?" Slade felt himself respond to her resilience with a smile of his own.

"25… you?"

"17." Slade nodded, both knowing that although their ages would seem young to an outsider, they hadn't beentheir agefor a very long time…

* * *

Robin knocked on her door. No one answered... weird. Raven was always a light sleeper… 

With a strange feeling Robin flipped open his communicator and gently tapped a few buttons. He could only get an approximate view of where she was unless he chanced alerting her... she was in the Southwest quarter of the city...


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: College is OVER! Mwahahahaha... well until next year at least... Anyway, once more I've been overwhelmed by reviewers, careful you might make me think people like my writing. So a big thank you to:**

**cheeseshirt - _Ooh! Cocoa?_**

**Bunnysquirrel - _Umm... well I just kinda butchered his history... oh well_**

**whitedarkness - _Here's your next fix..._**

**mysti-eyed - _Absolutely_**

**TerrisMoon - _Thank you, criticism is always valued... by the way it's correct instead of 'corrct', keep (or kept) instead of 'kep', being instead of 'bing' and nuisance only has one 's'. I honestly appreciate corrections but it is nice when the person correcting me bothers to spell check_**

**NumbuhZero - _I'm glad you liked it and I do feel a bit bad about Robin... never mind!_**

**sillymail - _Only coz you begged..._**

**xdire.vixenx - _Well it would be mean of me to keep you in suspense..._**

**Bara Midori Zeco - _I'm very flattered (and only _slightly_ disturbed) that you like the story so much. Sorry about conversations, it's a definate fault in all my writings._**

**_The age difference... yeah that gave me some trouble. Personally I always saw Slade as late 30's to 40 but that put him in the 'old enough to be her Father' group. I'm all for older men but... anyway 25 was as young as I could see him (I'm also shocked that parents aren't complaining). As for Raven, I don't know where this story is going beyond Chapter6 so I gave myself some leeway._**

**_I have some trouble writing for Robin, he's kinda out of my experience, so any help is good._**

**Infamous One - _Thank you. I only know a bit of Deathstrokes background but yes I know he's a lot older... but hey, fan fiction is a beautiful thing! (I definately agree with the immortality, I always felt sorry for vampires...)_**

**ShadowVixen - _I'm glad you think it works, really I just butchered what the comics said, and the next chapter is here..._**

**IMPORTANT: CRITICISM APPRECIATED, ESPECIALLY IF CHARACTERS GO OOC! THANK YOU**

**Disclaimer - I am aware that I'm dillusional, doesn't mean you have to be**

* * *

Raven yawned as she gently fell from her meditative pose. Those lost two hours of sleep each night were starting to creep up on her. She smiled as she watched the sunset… and thought of her late night conversations. It was strange how easily she trusted him with something even Robin didn't know… Robin… 

At the thought of her fearless leader the empath froze. She knew how much her friend hated Slade… was she truly doing the right thing by not telling him about… she shook herself. 'About what Raven? All you're doing is playing a little chess and talking… admittedly to a criminal… but it wasn't like I'm betraying anyone's secrets. We don't even talk about the Titans, and he'd kept his promise…'

Raven absently flicked a strand of wayward hair from out of her eyes as she internally excused her behaviour. She already knew that this secret couldn't be kept for ever… none could. She also knew that when her friends found out they'd feel betrayed. A certain masked wonders face flashed through her mind… he'd be devastated.

Her gaze was caught by the rapidly fleeing sun and the golds, reds and purples surrounding it. She smiled slightly as she wondered what he would think of it…

Her smile fled as she realised she didn't know who she'd just thought of. The sorceress scowled, she might be in trouble…

"Rae?" She was brought back from her musings by her friends call.

"Yes Robin?"

"You ok? You looked far away…"

"I was just lost in thought."

The Boy Wonder lithely stepped to her side.

"About?" The sorceress shook her head with a small smile. Robin grinned, he knew she'd never give away her secrets easily but he had to ask. Besides anything that resulted in her smile was good. "Ok… well I was just coming to tell you Cyborg shutting down the Tower for the night,"

"Already? Normally every one stays up till late,"

"Yeah everyone's been tired today…" Robin saw his chance. "Have you been sleeping ok?" Raven graced him with a puzzled glance. "It's just that… you look tired. Anything you want to talk about?" All right Boy Wonder, you gave her the chance…

"No, I've merely been meditating when I should be sleeping."

"Oh… well goodnight Raven," she watched him walk to the door. That was strange… Robin seemed… disappointed? In her? She shook her head once more, trying to believe she had imagined it, before she phased to her room and walked over to her bed.

In the gloom anyone else would have missed the object lying on her pillow… but Raven was part demon, something that had advantages and night vision was definitely one of them. The empath gasped as she reached out for the flower… it was a black orchid, her favourite but who…?

Her expression was one of pure surprise as she realised there was only one person on this planet who knew what her favourite flower was. She'd told him last night. She smiled. It was very sweet of him… for the second time that night Ravens thoughts surprised her.

'What's going on? I should be furious! Someone came into MY ROOM! And not just anyone! Someone who's repeatedly attacked the Titans broke into the Tower and WENT INTO MY ROOM! And I think its _sweet?_'

A distressed Raven fell into her bed, barely noticing as she brought the flower to her lips. It's scent the last thing she knew before sleep took her.

'Hmm… so sweet of Slade…"

* * *

Robin stared at the computer screen. After a few modifications during the day he could now patch into Ravens communicator to locate her without the sorceress knowing about it. His gaze didn't waver once as for the next six hours he glared at a map of the city, specifically the red dot that told him exactly where Raven was… the Tower. 

At four in the morning he was contemplating switching the monitor off and catching an hour or twos sleep when the dot moved. He blinked, in less than a second Raven had moved from her room to the southwest warehouse district. 'She must have teleported…' he mused as he gathered his belongings and crept towards the garage. 'What would she be doing there this early in the morning?' Robin shook his head as his motorbike roared to life, he didn't know… but he was going to find out.

* * *

Relying on years of practice with his mentor, a teenage boy ran along the rooftops without making a sound. He leapt over a space between two warehouses, glancing once more at his communicator as he landed. He was getting very close to her signal… there! Robin paused as he looked at the dilapidated building across from him. He double-checked. Yep… the mini-computer said Raven was inside. 

The Boy Wonder frowned slightly, absently jumping from the second story roof and landing in an easy movement that most people could only envy. What would Raven possibly be doing in a place like this three nights in a row? With shadow like silence Robin crept towards the door… all thoughts of a trick vanishing as he heard laughter from inside. His heart stopped, even though he'd never heard it before Robin instinctively knew that only the quiet empath had a laugh that was as shy and mysterious as it was infectious. She'd never done more than smile in his presence… who could've possibly gotten through her exterior enough to make her laugh?

As much as it broke his heart, Cyborgs suspicion of their friend having a secret boyfriend seemed more likely with each second. The youth crept closer to the partially open door to see who had gained the empaths trust enough for her to laugh in their company… and heard a voice that made his blood freeze…


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: Um... I hate to say this but I'm going to Nottingham for a week and may or may not be able to update... I promise I'll try and I will be writing whether it's on computer or not...please don't kill me?**

**Oh and thank you to my reviewers:**

**evilsangle - _Ok, ok... breathe in... breathe out... feeling better? You're NOT allowed to have a heart attack! You're one of my best reviewers so you have to stay alive until you review this one! Now... read chapter five and yes, Robin doesn't take it very well..._**

**Firedoll22 - _The black orchid is the national flower of Belize and the 'Paphiopedilum' or 'Lady Slipper' orchid comes in a very nice shade of black... ok so I googled it! I didn't actually know this when I wrote that chapter but oh well. Thanks for the compliments._**

**Bara Midori Zeco - _That was fun to write, I love it when people try to figure out their own minds. As for the question... um... both?_**

**sillymail - _but it's so fun to see my reviewers squirm..._**

**cheeseshirt - _Cocoa! Thank you and I'm not taking that bet... since by the time I read your review I'd already lost..._**

**_P.S. Caffeine rules all!_**

**whitedarkness - _I know it's so mean of me. Glad you think it's good!_**

**Bunnysquirrel - _Kitten? Ok... never mind I have cocoa!_**

**Zodokai - _I'll give you a clue... he gets rather upset..._**

**mysti-eyed - _The next chapter is here for your pleasure,_**

**NumbuhZero - _Anyhting for the Queen of the Gnomes, your majesty_**

**Mad Pierrot Le Fou - _Aww, thank you. i apologize for the chapter length, this one is longer..._**

**Cherry Jade - _That's a good idea but I doubt it... we'll just have to see,_**

**ravenone - _Of course_**

**Heeheeitsme - _Robin is definately fun to mess with. Glad you think everyone's in character, although Slade kinda had to be out a bit._**

**syunikiss - _Thank you so much, flattery is priceless_**

**DarkAngelImogen - _Well here's the next chapter,_**

**Shadowofazarath - _Thank you... besides scary can be good..._**

**ShadowVixen - _You made me blush, thank you_**

**Psychic Werewolf Assassin - _I can bu try,_**

**Rogue Warrior Spirit - _I'm glad you're enjoying yourself... it's rather bizarre how much I've enjoyed writing this triangle..._**

**Infamous One - _It's fun to be unfair! And yes Slade definately has his charms but I'm not sure what the decision will be. Robin was definately a bit green eyed back there..._**

**Disclaimer: All right! I admit it! I DO NOT OWN THE TEEN TITANS! Happy now?**

* * *

An armoured hand moved a chess piece as he studied hiscompanion and noted her small smile. "I should give you flowers more often," 

She looked up from the chess board and met his gaze. "It was very sweet,"

"… sweet?"

"Yes," her smile widened slightly and become playful.

"Raven that's only slightly less of an insult than calling a man cute,"

"Very well… it was cute." The empath laughed as she felt his mock indignation.

"I will remember that," He remarked in an overly cold tone that sent her into more peals of laughter. Slade smiled, Raven had a beautiful laugh. Although he would never admit it, he had been… apprehensive of Ravens reaction tonight. He knew how highly she valued her privacy and had spent the last few hours deliberately _not_ worrying that he'd over stepped his bounds. Yet she had been in a better mood this meeting than she had ever been before, or at least in his company. He had to remember how much she enjoyed gifts, nothing too extravagant though. She'd just see that as cliché and far too obvious. Small and heartfelt. Something to make her feel as special as she was… Slade paused. What exactly was he doing?

The villains thoughts were interrupted by a roar of rage and a swiftly moving teenager.

"SLADE!" Robins staff slammed down on the chair where the villain had been mere seconds before. Reacting to years of training Slade landed from his jump in a battle stance, staff outstretched… and looked across to the violet-eyed sorceress.

-FLASHBACK-

Raven walked into the warehouse with a scrap of paper clutched in her right hand. She had examined it for the last eight hours, ever since she'd found it outside the Towers front door.

_Raven,_

_If you wish to continue our game then meet me in the southwest warehouse district before sunrise tonight. Number 560._

_As always the choice is yours…_

She knew who had written it immediately. She'd only been home three days since the white room… but she had missed playing chess for hours at a time… As soon as the thought of going had crossed her mind she had sent the letter to another dimension, determined to believe it was another of his tricks… and spent the rest of the morning thinking about it whenever her thoughts strayed.

Finally she had enough and brought it back to this world only slightly singed. After that she'd examined it in every way possible. Although the text was ornate enough to be handwritten it was definitely typed. The font was 'BlackChancery' and found in all Microsoft Word versions for several years. Not much of a clue considering roughly half of all computers in Jump City had Microsoft, including libraries. The ink it was written in was unbelievably standard and was sold in all but one of the twenty computer shops in the city limits alone. The paper wasn't very helpful either…

Which left only the message itself and her decision. She could tell her friends… they may actually catch him this time…

As much as Raven hated to admit it, she'd made her choice the moment she read it. Over the last three days her friends had given her more attention than she could stand, even when they respected her wishes and left her alone to meditate she could feel their emotions about her constantly, how worried they'd been, how much they missed her, how they were ecstatic to have her back… and it was driving her insane… Even Robin, the one Titan she could normally trust to not project his emotions was almost painful to be around but if she spent more than a few hours out of their company they started to worry…

For an empath it was an unbearable environment and she frequently found herself wishing for the quiet she'd found in his lair. To be able to speak to someone without every emotional nuance of their words being driven into her skull. To have an actual conversation that was more complex than what every one wanted to eat that night. Or to not talk at all and play a game that wasn't computerised and didn't require constant _noise_. Rather hard to do in a house of teenagers…

This gave her the opportunity she so desperately craved and after hours of denial she finally gave in to the fact that she wanted to go… even if it was a trap. At exactly four o'clock Raven rose from bed, got dressed, cast a little known spell on her room that, if it wasn't deactivated in three hours, would tell her friends what had happened (with a few modifications) and teleported to the meeting place with note in hand.

With head high and radiating confidence Raven stepped into the darkly light interior and gasped. Inside was something she hadn't dared to believe. Set on top of a small, elegant yet simple oak table was a beautifully carved beech and mahogany chess set. Although she didn't know it yet, every visit would herald a new board and matching pieces, even if they had left a game unfinished he would change it and move the corresponding pieces to where they had been the night before.

From the shadows came a cold voice, containing a level of threat that was second nature to him. "You believed it was a trap and yet you still came?"

The young sorceress elegantly sat at one of the two chairs surrounding the table and waited for her opponent. As he came stepped out of the shadows she glanced at him and asked a question close to her heart in a voice more emotionless than his. "Why Slade?" The masked villain was silent until he sat opposite her with a grace born from years of fighting.

"The company was enjoyable,"

For the next two hours the two remained silent. Neither needing conversation… nor even the traditional calls of the game. All was silent as the two enemies expertly played, won, lost and started again. For two hours they merely relaxed in each others company, as the sun rose another game ended and they both looked at each other. Slade inclined his head slightly in a silent question to which Raven merely nodded once. Yes, she was leaving now. As the two opponents rose Slade broke the silence.

"Will you come again?" Raven glanced at the board. Once again she had fun… and the company was pleasant… she already knew what she wanted but she couldn't let this turn into something that would betray her friends. An idea flashed across her mind, something that would allow her to continue without putting her friends in danger.

"I will come tomorrow if you make me a promise," Slade looked at her curiously, as much as he had hoped she would say yes he'd never expected her to do so and definitely not as soon as tomorrow. Yet it wouldn't hurt to find out what the empath wanted...

"Which is?"

"That you will not attack my friends. You will not fight the Titans,"

"Even if they attack me first?" Raven raised her gaze to Slades and nodded slightly. "Very well… I promise Raven."

The empath came tomorrow at the same time, and the day after, and the day after that for weeks. Slade kept his promise. None of the Titans but one heard anything of the villain, there was not even a report of any activity resembling Slade…

-END OF FLASHBACK-

In her hypnotic eyes he remembered the promise. A mere moment after he had landed, Slade straightened from his stance and allowed his staff to contract once more. He would not break his word to her.

If Robin saw that his enemy was now unarmed he gave no sign. With another cry of rage the youth attacked, his staff an extension of his arm as he executed perfect blows, each one strong enough to break bones, and would have… ifthey had hit the victim. With an easy grace Slade dodged every kick, every blow yet never attempting to retaliate. Both of them were masters who had been fighting for years, but Slade had the advantage, in a fair fight he would win. Especially as Robin was fighting angry, allowing gaps in his defence to attack. However dodging blows was far more difficult than fighting his opponent, concentrating his mind Slade allowed himself a glance at the sorceress still standing at the centre of the room.

'Raven I can not continue this,' quickly Slade jumped backwards, not having time to see if she had gotten his message as Robins staff thrust horizontally in a move designed to sweep an opponent of their feet… helpless.

At Slades silentplea Raven shook herself out of her shock. Slade was in trouble, he could've fought but he hadn't. He had kept his word and would continue to do so… not that that would be for very long if Robin didn't stop…

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," with a wave of her arms Robin was encased in Ravens trademark black magic, restraining him as Slade calmly walked away. For a brief moment he allowed his aura to show, knowing that Raven would catch the turmoil of emotions, gratitude for her intervention, sympathy for her situation… and the unspoken promise of sanctuary if she chose. Raven silently thanked him for the offer before turning back to a still struggling youth.

"Robin, listen to me…"

"Traitor!" he snarled before allowing himself to relax and look into her eyes. "Raven… how could you do this…?"

"Robin I have _not_ betrayed you. I never could,"

His eyes narrowed at her denial, his voice filled with anger. "And Slade was just an illusion?"

Raven sighed, she knew she couldn't explain, but he deserved the attempt. "We were… playing chess…"

Robin relaxed as his mind reeled in confusion, his gaze travelled across the miraculously undamaged chess set. The white had been winning… "What?"

"Chess…" she avoided his eyes, her monotone still in place but filled with sorrow… yet there was no trace of guilt…

"It's Slade! He's a criminal!"

"He made me a promise that he would not hurt you,"

At her words Robin stopped, his eyes filled with sympathy as he though of a reason for her actions.

"Blackmail? Why didn't you tell us…?"

Raven merely shook her head as she released the Boy Wonder from her magic restraints, "Not blackmail Robin. Slade is _not_ threatening me…"

"Then why Raven?"

"It was just… someone who understood me…"

"We're your friends Raven… why couldn't you trust us?" Raven sighed yet offered no excuse as she met his eyes. "We're going home."

She nodded before asking for his plans. "Are you going to tell the others?"

Robin paused as he walked away, not trusting himself to look at her and sighed. When he answered her it was in a whisper filled with pain. "No… they don't need to know…" he continued walking, not looking back as she teleported back to the Tower.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: Hello! I'm back! I'm very sorry for not reviewing during my trip to Nottingham but it was unavoidable, however as I promised I didn't stop writing. In fact this is all I've written in the past seven days, yes I know I'm slow. I just spent all yesterday typing it up so I hope every one enjoys. By the way it starts to get a bit sappy... I'm very sorry it was unaviodable! As a result I am not as sure of the characters staying IC...**

**Once more a big thank you to all my reviewers. I love all types of flattery, most criticism and some blackmail/threats (yes that does mean you Bunnysquirrel) Thank you everyone!**

**saucywench20 - _Glad you like it!_**

**Silver Goddess1 - _Thank you, it's nice to know I'm doing ok,_**

**sillymail - _Nottingham, and yes I did,_**

**whitedarkness - _Wish granted!_**

**Firedoll22 - _I know! Slade is very cool!_**

**Chaos Tears - _Well if you're feeling then I'm doing my job. Please... read on,_**

**NumbuhZero - _Of course your majesty!_**

**Lily of the Shadow - _Wow... thank you! For a cartoon Teen Titans isn't that bad, you should definately read some more..._**

**DragonStar - _Don't worry, I NEVER start something I don't intend to finish. Glad you're coming back for more._**

**LM22102 - _Thank you very much! They're my two favourite characters and I've always thought understanding was more important than romance..._**

**cheeseshirt - _I have Chapter 6 to cheer you up! Don't worry, eventually school goes away (although I did just spend a week at a university...) Can't say the same about work though..._**

**raven809 - _Possibly... I'll see how it goes,_**

**Bunnysquirrel - _eep! ... Oh well (pulls out knife and fork) I like chickens!_**

**mysti-eyed - _It was sweet of him... updating now!_**

**evilsangle - _ok? I think we're forgetting to breathe again... (slaps evilsangle) Pull yourself together! Now... the next chapter is up for all good boys and girls..._**

**Infamous One - _Well I'm back! And so is Chapter 6. I've always thought bad guys should keep their word (makes threats worse) and I'm very pleased you're enjoying this... alas we are coming to an end soon..._**

**Cherry Jade - _Well I've never seen Robin as the understanding type (at least not till after he's blown off some steam)... you'll just have to read on for his reaction!_**

**Dazzler420 - _I know exactly what you mean! ... Don't worry, all of my reviewers make a huge contribution to both my sanity and the story!_**

**ShadowVixen - _You _like_ making me blush! ... Thank you!_**

**Bogbrush - _Please read on..._**

**RavenOfAzarath - _Then I'm really happy. I love writing... and compliments!_**

**Anukis-san - _Thank you! It's always a relief to hear characters are IC! I hate stories were they're out, and I'm really glad yo like this!_**

**xdire.vixenx - _Ah patience is a virtue... Sorry for the wait but it's finally here!_**

**Ralf Jones - _Doing so now. Thank you!_**

**lil runt - _The couple _is_ oddly addicting... Who doesn't like being told they kick ass-paragus! By the way... you've been reading a bit too much Shakespear! So... please read on... _most_ will be revealed... (Nottingham was great thanks)_**

**Setsuna Mudo (Ch2) - _Thank you! I promise I will update to the end,_**

**Setsuna Mudo (Ch3) - _Computers are evil incarnate! I'm glad you like Slades origins, I was kinda dreading the comic book fans threatening to beat me up for butchering DeathStrokes history... hasn't happened yet! Yes the age difference... I was just a bit uncomfortable with Slade being mid-30's to 40's and Rae only 14... the wonders of fanfic!_**

**Setsuna Mudo (Ch4) - _Again thank you! I'm so glad I'm improving! Yes, I've been told I'm too critical of my writing, but if I wasn't it wouldn't be as good!_**

**Setsuna Mudo (Ch5) - _Slade _had_ to keep his promise! Although I do feel sorry for Robin... oh well! By the way I really appreciate how you reviewed for Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 instead of just 5. It was very thoughtful of you, thanks!_**

**kinokokichigai - _Absolutely!_**

**Cruel and Usual - _Thank you! Sorry for the wait but I couldn't help it... anyway Chapter 6 is here!_**

**Disclaimer: I have just heard back from my lawyers who have confirmed that I don't own the Teen Titans... and gave me the phone numbers of several psychologists! Nice guys...**

* * *

Raven sat on the edge of her bed, thinking about the events of the past few weeks. Had she been wrong? All she wanted was for someone to understand her… and Slade had. She'd enjoyed his company, their games, their talks… and she knew he felt the same. He'd even kept his promise when it was very dangerous for him to do so… 

Raven sighed, she would wait for Robin. Hopefully they'd talk…

Raven interrupted her train of thought as the Titans alarm went off. She hesitated for a moment, what if he didn't want her there? She nodded as she felt his presence enter the living room. She knew her duty, whether he'd let her carry it out was his choice, not hers. She phased to the living room in time to see Robin hunch over the computer screen.

"It's Rancid… looks like he has a new pet," Robin turned to look at the assembled team, all awaiting his order. "Raven I want you to sit this one out."

The other threes expressions were pure horror as Raven tensed slightly

"As you wish Robin." Raven turned to the rest of the team, "Don't get hurt." Her friends could only stare as the two most powerful Titans walked off in opposite directions, reluctantly turning to follow their leader out the door.

Cyborg and Beast Boy hung back slightly.

"What was that about?"

Cyborg shook his head in confusion. "Maybe… those two had a fight?"

* * *

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath…" 

'_How DARE he?'_

"Metrion Zinthos. Azarath…"

'_He just dismissed her? HER?'_

"Metion Zinthos…"

'_The arrogant, ignorant…'_

"Azarath…"

'_self-absorbed…'_

"Metrion…"

'_little…'_

"Zinthos…" Raven sighed as she dropped from her meditative pose and onto her bed. For one of the few times in her life, trying to stay calm was not helping and thinking about the situation was definitely NOT helping… no matter how accurate her observations about her team mate were…

Raven took another deep breath. Trying to push out her anger with her exhale in a very simple meditation technique. She tried to remember past solutions to controlling her anger… and came up blank. The only other times her meditation had failed was back on Azarath when there had been a dozen priests at hand to calm her down. She shivered as she remembered some of the spells they had used…

Of course lately she hadn't needed to meditate as much. Raven smiled slightly as her powers brought a black orchid to her hand. He'd helped her more than he could realise… maybe she should talk to him now… he had offered her sanctuary…

Raven didn't allow herself to think about her decision as she opened a portal in front of her and walked through…

Her room seemed to shrink slightly as she left it, becoming less forbidding yet less alive. In the empty darkness a single flower fell to the ground as the books whispered for one last time, their magic gone with the sorceress they belonged to…

* * *

Slade didn't turn as another entered the perfectly white room, seemingly identical to one he'd been trapped in for over seventeen hours. Neither acknowledged the others existence as the newcomer walked to the centre of the room and picked up an object with an elegant grey hand. 

"I didn't believe you'd come,"

Over the top of her cup the amethyst-eyed sorceress smiled slightly. "And yet my tea is hot,"

Before he turned to face her, Slade knew his own smile matched hers with a perfect mix of joy at the others presence and sorrow at the circumstance.

Slade tensed, refusing to let himself be drawn into the easy companionship that now existed between them and consciously forced his voice to become as heartless as it could in her presence. "As always the choice is yours Raven," the empath sighed, her eyes avoiding his piercing gaze as he refused to relent. "What are you going to do?"

* * *

Starfire cried out as she was thrown away from the battle and against the wall of a skyscraper. At the sight of his friend being hurt Cyborg felt his anger rising. Quickly he turned to Johnny Rancid and his new giant pet spider and with a move performed so many times he no longer thought about it, Cyborg turned his arm into a canon and… was thrown against the same building as Star. When his daze retreated Cy looked around, 'why hadn't Raven… oh.' Without a word Cyborg and Starfire looked at each other and charged back in. 

Robin jumped out of the way of yet another mechanical spider leg and looked at his team. He'd seen Starfire and Cyborgs mistake, they'd both performed perfect moves that they'd trained for… except both times needed Raven… Robin sighed. It was Johnny, even with his new toy they should not be having this much trouble but they were a team. Without any member they suffered but without Raven? She was the one who always watched their backs, the one who made sure none of them paid for their mistakes to heavily and avenged every bruise. Without her they were lost… and not just in battles… Robin absently threw an explosive at the mechanical arachnids weak spot, causing a chain reaction that destroyed the monster. He nodded slightly, when they got home he'd talk to Raven. They'd work this out. He winced as he remembered calling her a traitor. How could he have been so stupid? Raven would never betray them… and when he talked to her he'd ask her forgiveness. They needed Raven… he needed Raven.

As Robin was lost in his thoughts the rest of the team restrained Rancid… and shared a look. They all knew that they couldn't stand more battles like that. Silently the other two nominated Cyborg who reluctantly accepted his duty and walked over to Robin.

"Why wasn't Raven here man?" asked the bionic teen in a very cautious voice.

"I don't want to talk about it." Once more the team shared a look, but this time Robin caught it and smiled slightly. "Don't worry guys. I'm going to talk to her. Everything'll be fine," Cyborg nodded and let his friend walk over to his bike. He was going to make sure those two talked, whatever was going on needed to be sorted out. Cy didn't want to think of what would happen if things spiralled out of control and Rae left. She was the one they all relied on to stay sane…

* * *

"They're my friends. They took me in, accepted me. They care about me and I care about them. We've been through a lot. They are the only family I've ever had…" 

Raven paced up and down the perfectly white and sterile room as she listed her reasons to chose her friends in an imperfect monotone. Slade looked on patiently and waited for a break in her rant before speaking in a soft tone.

"It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself,"

Raven paused with a thoughtful expression showing through her emotionless façade as she realised why she was standing in that room. "No… I made my choice before I came here…"

Slade felt a sense of dread filter through his self-control. She came to say goodbye, she was leaving and never coming back. Panic followed on the heels of that thought, to never talk to her again, to never hear her laugh again, to never see her again, her mesmerising eyes, her smile… With unmeasured steps that betrayed his emotion, Slade crossed the distance between them and for the first time invaded her personal space. His muscular form a mere inch from her petite frame as he looked down at her, eagerly drinking in possibly his last sight of her. His chest rose and fell as her scent enclosed him and without letting himself ponder his actions he gently raised his hand and cupped her face. Softly letting his fingers run though her hair before speaking in a voice filled with more emotion than he'd heard from himself in a very long time.

"Raven…" _'What am I doing? She's 17! … and in a few seconds she'll send me to another dimension for daring to touch her…'_

"… whatever you choose… don't let it be out of duty… make sure it's what you want…" _'What am I saying? No woman that perfect would ever choose me… I'm a monster…'_

Raven didn't look away from the darkly armoured man as she took his hand in her own and slowly moved it from her face, holding it between them.

"Slade… I made my choice a while ago…" Slade sighed in defeat. "My friends accept me but you understand me." Raven smiled slightly as she felt his confusion. "I've told you things no one in this dimension knows. I don't need to pretend with you. You're the only one who not only knows me well enough to give me a present I enjoy but the only one whom I trust enough to accept it from. I chose you Slade. How could I do anything else?"

Slade reeled slightly as her words hit him, incredulous at her decision. "Me? You'll stay?"

Raven nodded, her violet eyes sparkling with laughter at his reaction. A moment later her eyes clouded over as a thought crossed her mind. "Yes… but…"

Immediately Slade tightened his grip on her hand. "Anything… if you're here I couldn't care less,"

Raven turned from him slightly, her eyes downcast. "I can give up my friends without regret… but I can't live with a criminal…"

With his free hand he turned her face back to him. "I said anything Raven. I meant that."

She tilted her cheek into his hand, eyes half closed at the contact. "What are we?"

"I don't know… I've only felt this way once before…"

Raven nodded in understanding as his aura merges with hers, and she recognised her emotions in his…

* * *

The weary Titans walked into their living room, for once neither of the boys looking at the giant T.V. screen. The green shape shifter stumbled over to the huge sofa and collapsed, barely falling on top of it, every move showing his exhaustion. The others sighed, just pleased to be home and safe. 

After a few moments Beast Boy looked up, "Where's Raven?"

Cyborg copied his movement. "Yeah, where _is_ Raven?" He'd kind of expected her to be waiting for them when they got back to make sure they were ok… the trio watched as their leader flipped open his communicator and pressed a few buttons on the side. Robin stared at the screen, hatred filling his face and his free hand clenching into a fist as he quickly snapped the cover closed and put his communicator back into his utility belt.

In a voice closer to a growl than any human tone Robin darkly muttered his response. "She's with _him_…"

Beast Boy ignored his body's complaints and sat up sharply as Robin started to storm out of the room. "Dude where are you going?"

Robin didn't pause as he walked off. "I'll explain later."

In one move Cyborg strode over to his teammate and grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing him to turn and face the rest of them.

"Oh no! First you go psycho on a petty crook, then you ground Raven and now you're running off somewhere? You owe us an explanation man!"

For a few heart stopping seconds BB and Starfire could only stare at their friends, convinced that any moment Robin would turn on his friend. Instead he did something no one expected. He sighed, running his hand through his hair in defeat. They needed to know…

"All right. After you came to talk to me Cyborg, I decided to find out where she kept going so I followed her…" The team stared at him, Beast Boy the most panicked.

"WAIT! RAVEN? YOU FOLLOWED RAVEN?"

Cyborg shook his head, "Not good. Man you know how she values her privacy! How could you?"

"Yes, friend Raven would not be pleased by your behaviour Robin."

Their leader put his hands up in defence as all of them berated him. "I just wanted to make sure she was alright!"

"Uh-huh," came Cyborgs sceptical reply. He had a pretty good idea why he'd been following Raven…

Robin merely glared at the team from behind mask. "Anyway! I followed her to the southwest warehouse district…"

Cyborg looked confused. "Why would she go there?"

Their leader merely shook his head. He would tell them the entire story. "… inside one of them I heard laughter… Ravens…" Robins voice began to falter as the memory threatened to resurface.

Beast Boy looked completely and utterly stunned. After all his jokes… "Dude, Raven _laughed_?"

"Guess you weren't completely insane after all BB," shrugged Cyborg, slightly disappointed that she hadn't told him anything.

The young alien simply looked very confused. "Please, why was Raven laughing in such a strange place?"

Robin sighed again, refusing to meet anyone's eye. "She was talking to someone Star…"

Cyborg perked up as his suspicions were confirmed. "Who? Come on, we have to meet him!"

"You already know him…" None of the team noticed how quiet and pained Robins voice became with every statement. However Starfire had just caught on to the veiled subject. "Who? Friend Aqualad? Speedy?"

Robin turned from his friends and hanged his head. "Guys… it was… Slade…" Robin hissed the name and he heard a thump as Cyborg fell to the floor, his legs giving way from shock. The previously floating Starfire landed on the floor, stumbling against the floor slightly as her grace left her and Beast Boys jaw hung open, his eyes wide.

Beast Boy recovered first, with a sensible response. "Whoa…"

"Uh… are you… sure Rob? You weren't imagining it?" pleaded a semi shell-shocked Cyborg.

Starfire nodded, preferring that alternative. "Yes please?"

Robin shook his head, still refusing to look at them. "I wish I was…"

Cyborgs stunned expression hardened as he resolved to process that later. "What happened next?"

Robin turned back around, one eyebrow raised. "I heard that mad mans voice in a warehouse. What do you think I did? I charged in and attacked him!"

The rest of the team looked puzzled, Beast Boy voicing their shared question, "… um… if you two fought then… why aren't you hurt?"

Robins face turned puzzled. "We didn't fight… he didn't fight back. The most he did was block me, most of the time he just… avoided me…"

Cyborg shook his head. This entire situation was getting stranger by the second. "Where is she now?"

"She's in the same warehouse,"

Cyborg eyed him suspiciously. He knew exactly what their communicators could do. Robin must've altered his… he'd talk to him about boundaries later. Right now they had o find a certain dark girl and ask _her_ what the hell was going on…

* * *

Slade looked down at the delicate maiden. "Are you sure Raven?" 

She nodded, still relaxed at his touch. "Yes."

"… I know how much your friends mean to you… I don't want you to regret this…" Raven looked up sharply as his voice began to falter.

"Slade listen to me. I _want_ to stay with you. If you stay here Robin _will_ find you. You have to leave. Therefore the only option for… us… is if I go with you… unless…"

He looked at her curiously as her eyes became downcast. "Unless?"

"… you don't want me?"

Slade smiled. "Raven, for the past few weeks you've haunted my every thought. I have told you more than anyone alive knows. I … enjoy your company more than I ever believed possible. I _want_ to be with you. If you tell me to leave then I will and if you say you want to come then I am _more_ than happy to oblige. I wish for you to be happy more than anything… and I promise I will never leave you."

She looked up at him. "Do you always keep your word?"

"I try," his voice was barely a whisper as he gazed into her hypnotically violet eyes.

With an almost innocent nervousness, Raven slowly raised her hands to Slades mask. Her fingers found the edge as Raven kept her gaze firmly on his. He stared at her, silently granting her permission as she slowly removed the villains last defence, the metal clattering to the floor. Raven gasped as she saw his face, his short ash-blonde hair in disarray above his steel blue eye, his pale skin and sensuous red lips. His handsome face was at odds with his terribly scarred right face. Hesitantly Raven ran her fingers down the scar tissue, past his ruined eye and down to his lips. Slade repressed his moan at her touch as his gaze sought her own, desperately hoping for no look of horror at his appearance. His heart would break at her disgust…

When she had finished her blind examination she looked up at him… and smiled. Gently she let her body rest against his, sighing as his arms wrapped around her waist and moved her left hand behind his head. Slowly Slade succumbed to the pressure and his head leant down the few inches between them as she stood on tiptoes. With unyielding softness their lips met, each one deepening their embrace to be closer to the other. The kiss lasted for eternal seconds before Slade broke it, his chest heaving against her own as he looked into her eyes, searching for her reaction. At her unguarded smile Slade grinned and his lips sought hers once more. Raven eagerly responded to his passion as their tongues met, each of them lost in the others spirit.

This time Raven withdrew first and smiled at Slades heavy breath. She had sensed his growing need for oxygen yet reluctance to stop. Due to her demonic heritage she had more endurance than he, yet something was bothering her. As she waited for Slade to catch his breath she brought her hand to her lips and closed her eyes. There was something in his taste, not strong or she would have smelt it… something recent… a power…

Slade watched her with growing anxiety, "Is something wrong?" At his voice her eyes flew open in surprise. She knew what she had sensed.

"You're immortal,"

"What?"

"Immortal," Raven placed her hand against his cheekbone as she looked into his eye in amazement. "You've stopped ageing,"

"How?"

"It must be the chemicals in your blood. They increased your healing ability right?" Slade nodded. "Well you're body is repairing itself constantly. You have stopped ageing, probably very recently or I would've sensed it immediately." She smiled slightly as she realised what this meant.

Slade panicked, "No. I do _not_ want to be immortal,"

"Why?"

"Because you'll leave…" he couldn't bring himself to say that she would die and that he would be there to watch.

Raven laughed slightly as she realised his fear. "Slade I'm half demon. When my physical body has reached its peak it will stop ageing. I have lived my entire life knowing that unless someone killed me, I would watch every thing I ever cared about grow old and die while I remained," she smiled as she caught the understanding in his eye. "This is perfect,"

Slade brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "We won't be torn apart?"

"Never,"

"Then I will never leave you,"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

The pair met again in a kiss, both losing themselves once more. Not that either cared…

* * *

The four Titans walked into the derelict building, all of them prepared for anything but what they saw. An empty room… well almost empty. In the centre stood a table, surrounding the table lay two chairs, both had been knocked over, and on the table was a simply carved marble chess set. Cyborg spared it a glance before turning back to Robin. The teams leader was staring at his communicator. 

"Something's disrupting the signal. The most I can tell is that she's underneath this warehouse," Robin looked up. "That means there's a way down. Find it," with his order given Robin walked over to the far wall. With a silence very unusual for the teenagers they split up. For the next five minutes the friends searched for some sort of doorway, Beast Boy was giving up. He leant against the wall, still tired from the earlier battle. Suddenly he heard a click… and the section of wall he was leaning against swung open, letting him drop to the floor.

"Uh… Guys? I found it."

The rest of the team rushed over to where BB was lying on the floor and looked down the perfectly white corridor… that split into four paths.

Robin nodded. "Everyone split up! Find her!"

The team raced down the corridors, each one faithfully carrying out their leaders order.

* * *

In the middle of a perfectly white room stood two figures, both entwined in the others embrace and both rejoicing at their fortune. Their bliss was marred by the sudden noise of an alarm. 

Slade looked up, carefully keeping his arms around his love until she let go. He had already promised himself that she would never feel unwanted and would go to insane lengths to keep such a promise.

Sighing Slade walked over to the closest wall, scooping up his mask on the way there. In one absent move he pressed his armoured hand against the surface as he re-adjusted his mask. A keyboard and six screens appeared in a hollow as a hologram deactivated itself. Four of the screens appeared to be surveillance cameras… and each one tracked the movements of a Titan. Slade spared them a single glance before looking at the centre monitor, which was filled with computer code, and starting to type. He didn't look up as he felt Raven move to his side and stare at her friends.

"The self-destruct's been activated,"

Raven turned to him curiously. "… your entire lair is set to self-destruct with intruders?"

"Of course,"

She tilted her head, studying him for a few moments before saying, "You're paranoid."

His typing barely slowed as Slade turned his attention from the screen and glanced at her. "You've only just realised this?"

She shook her head before turning to more important matters. "Can you shut it down?"

"No they're too far in," Slade stopped his lightning fast typing and straightened up as he turned to face the empath. "You have three minutes."

The sorceress nodded, still looking at the images of her friends. "Then this is my chance to say goodbye." She turned to him and they shared a quick embrace as Slade silently gave her his support. "I'll meet you at the City limits, North road?"

Slade reached out to her, running his fingers through her violet hair before answering.

"I'll wait, take as long as you need."

His last few of her was her smile before she fell into her soul-self and phased through the floor and to her friends.


	7. Farewell

**Authors Note: Well, here it is... the end of 'Chess Game'. I want to thank all my reviewers, I really couldn't have made this without your support so thank you. By the way the quote in the last paragraph belongs to'Mad Pierrot Le Fou', a very wise reviewer.**

**To every one who has read this far... I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Criticism and comments are welcome and often taken aboard. So thank you to...**

**DarkAngelImogen - _Glad you like it so far,_**

**evilsangle - _Aah but if you kill me there's no chance of a sequel... Yes I'm evil! Ha ha ha! And how dare you imply I'm a coward! Besides, dragons are immune to magic! Mwahahahaha!_**

**cheeseshirt - _But of course..._**

**UtterlyInsane - _Thank you, by the way I'm almost certain that in the comics Slade was immortal due to what the military did to him... Anyway I'm not that horrible (or that good a writer) so this is the last chapter. I may expand on the spells if there's a sequel... we'll have to see,_**

**Lily of the Shadow - _I find that well planned and executed 'jokes' work best with siblings... anyway I'm VERY glad you're enjoying this._**

**Bunnysquirrel - _Aww! Don't worry you can still dream of him. Ok so I'm not entirely sure what damage a pistol shot at close range would do so I exaggerated. Besides people can be very touchy about scars... and it was necessary for the story. I love being in control. As for the chicken... mmmm..._**

**PsychoMindGames - _Thank you, and I will_**

**sillymail - _Glad you think so,_**

**Falling Right Side-Up - _I know it can't happen... but it is such fun! It's nice to get such a great compliment so thank you... and you'll have to read on to find out,_**

**whitedarkness - _You're the second person to tell me I'm improving. This is so great to know! Thank you,_**

**Mad Pierrot Le Fou - _Thank you... I hope the end lives up to your expectations. By the way... I quoted your last review in the last paragraph of this chapter. I truly hope you don't mind. Oh and Nottingham was fantastic, thank you._**

**Cruel and Usual - _Yep, I know. I was kinda disappointed in his no longer single status too when that happened. Oh well... the story wouldn't let me replace Raven with myself. Anyway... I couldn't just let Slade grow old and die without Rae and I wasn't willing to make her mortal so I borrowed some comic book history... _**

**Infamous One -_Wow... you are not a happy person. This is very strange, until I read your review I hadn't thought of that ending and I'm normally extremely morbid... never mind. Sorry but I'm not so much for alternate endings... you'll just have to ask for a sequel..._**

**ShadowVixen - _You're completely welcome. I only hope you like this one as much,_**

**LM22102 - _Thank you, I needed the luck for this..._**

**NumbuhZero - _It's so fun to write! Thank you, I'm glad I'm doing well,_**

**DragonStar - _Yep, it's the end. Hope you like it,_**

**Rogue Warrior Spirit - _Your wish is my command..._**

**Scorpio Serpent - _Thank you,_**

**ABoxFullOfSharpObjects - _Actually I haven't watched Season 4 yet (damnable British TV). My inspiration for this pairing was pretty much 'Hmm... Robin and Raven go really well together... Slade's a lot like Robin... Hang on! What in hells name? Raven and Slade? Ok?' Thus appeared a driving need to get them together, luckily resolved when I realised I had been roped into playing chess with my little sister and had been steadily losing for the last ten minutes... as for more stories... I can only write what my imagination dictates. I don't see a problem as it refuses to shut up._**

**cat of doom - _Hmm... cat army... Well it is an opportunity to use all that catnip I suppose..._**

**Dontyoudarecry - _Shh! Calm yourself, the next chapter's already here_**

**Disclaimer - According to the theory of alternate universes I do actually own the Teen Titans... just not in this universe...**

* * *

Cyborg ran through the twisting corridor, every second reminding him of the last time they hunted for Slade. After three hours even Robin was tired of looking for the villain, he'd sent a message through the communicators to regroup where they had last seen Slade… Raven hadn't appeared… Cyborg shook his head, he'd never seen Robin so scared in his life. The boy went completely mental… not that any of them had been sane. Beast Boy had tried to track by scent for hours, that was when they first found out the walls actually moved. Starfire couldn't fly and her hands were constantly covered with starbolts and as for him… he sighed as he remembered the overwhelming emotions he'd felt when he discovered she couldn't be found. He'd never known the meanings of fear, anger and helplessness until that moment… and he'd been through a lot. If he'd ever once thought that being mostly machine hindered his emotions, all doubts had been blasted away then and there. 

Cyborg stared at the path ahead, turning when required as he stayed in his thoughts. He couldn't imagine a world without his little sister…

Suddenly a black fog covered his sight…

Next thing the bionic teenager knew he was standing in the middle of a park… and he was completely human…

"Ok… this is weird…" Cyborg looked around. He recognised this place… it'd been torn down when he was still a kid…

"Nice place…"

At the sound of that familiar voice Cy turned around, enveloping the young sorceress in a bear hug. For several seconds no thoughts interrupted the teen hero but eventually reality always kicks in. He pulled back slightly, not quite letting go in case she disappeared again.

"We were looking for you girl! I was running… and then I was here… and no tech… and you're here…" Cyborg trailed off as he realised how insane this situation was. "Am I dreaming?"

Raven smiled at his confused expression. "Not exactly. You're not here and I'm not here but we are talking,"

"Huh?"

"This is a spell to allow me to talk to you. I don't know where we are though. I let you chose a place and appearance you were comfortable in… is this from your past?"

Cyborg turned from Raven, his arms dropping to his sides as he realised she wasn't going to fade away. He smiled slightly as he watched a dozen kids play on the swings, slides and climbing frames. He definitely remembered this place.

"Yeah… this is the park across the street from where I used to live. I remember…" he pointed at the swings and looked at Raven like a little child showing a new friend his favourite haunts. "That's where my Dad and I always went first on the weekends!" he stared at the swings, letting his arm drop as the memories over took him. "Even when I was a kid Dad didn't have a lot of time… but every Sunday he'd drop everything and play with me. Sometimes we'd stay in, or just go to the park… he always let me choose…"

Raven watched as her friend started to grow depressed, remembering how his parents…

"They must have loved you very much,"

Cyborg nodded as he came back to the present. "Yeah… so… um… what's going on? Rob said…"

Raven sighed. "I'm leaving the Titans Cyborg,"

His response was immediate. "WHAT! You can't! Rae its Slade! He's a villain!… you can't leave us?" Cyborgs rant whimpered to a stop as his anger faded, misery kicking in.

Ravens violet gaze bored into his hazel eyes, for once her emotions were unshielded. Her anger at the suggestion she was abandoning them, her sorrow at leaving… and the hardest one for Cyborg to accept… her happiness at finding someone…

"Cyborg… the Titans are a family to me, the only one I've ever really had. I love all of you. You're like a big brother to me… I'll miss you." Cyborg watched as the scene behind Raven changed, memories of just him and her appearing before being pushed aside by the next one. When she'd comforted him at the loss of the T-car, rebuilding it, the two of them just talking… so many times.

"You're really leaving?"

"Yes,"

Cyborg pulled her into another hug, tears sliding down his face and whispered into her ear. "If he hurts you I will tear him limb from limb…" he released her and straightened up.

"Goodbye my friend. I'll miss you… brother…"

"You take care of yourself Rae! And you better keep in touch every now and then!"

The empath nodded with a smile as the scene changed to darkness. The next thing Cyborg knew was landing outside, hard. He winced as a sudden explosion roared behind him, the heat scorching him slightly.

* * *

In the form of a green Falcon, Beast Boy flew down the sterile lair. Although the walls were white, all he could sense was purple. Amethyst eyes, violet hair, the smell of lavender… he growled as his shape changed to a Cheetahs to rest his tired wings and give him fresh muscles. He would not lose Raven to Slade… not like Terra. 

The green shape shifter had decided long ago that his feelings for Raven would never be returned but that didn't matter. For all her sarcasm, for all the times she ignored him, all the times he annoyed her by accident or on purpose… he knew that Raven cared for him. They were friends… and together with the rest… they were family…

The changeling sped up further at this thought. He'd lost one family before, he was not going to let this one go without a fight.

For a brief moment all he could see was darkness before it receded… showing a jungle. Beast Boy gasped as smells, sounds and sights he never thought he'd sense again filled him. Everywhere he turned was green, he morphed back into human form and smiled. For the first time in a while he was camouflaged, it was a very comforting feeling. In the distance he could see the edge of a brown canvas tent… his parents camp… His smile faded as he realised there was no possible way this was real.

"This is surprisingly peaceful,"

Beast Boy slowly turned to the sorceress. "It's a forest, they're alive… you should see it during a monsoon. You'd love it,"

"I'm sure I would. Maybe I will someday,"

Beast Boy hesitated, for a figment of his imagination Raven was rather realistic…

"This isn't real," he stated trying to convince himself slightly as the jungle penetrated his blood.

Raven smiled. "It is in a way. This is how you remember it… and as for me and this conversation… it's as real as most things."

"Rae… what's going on?"

"The place you're in will self destruct in a few minutes…"

"What!"

"… so I'm getting you out of there. And the others… at the same time…" She caught his still confused look. "I'm teleporting the entire team out of danger."

"But this hasn't happened before?"

"No… I'm talking to all of you individually… I'm saying goodbye…"

"NO! You can't!" Beast Boy grabbed her shoulders. "Whatever he's threatening you with Raven it doesn't matter! We'll fight him! All we want is for you to come home…"

Raven smiled as realisation of what he was doing hit Beast Boy and his arms dropped.

"It's ok Beast Boy, he's not threatening me, no blackmail, no false promises. This isn't Malchior… or Terra… I'm leaving the Titans," she looked away for a moment as the forest disappeared… and scenes from their past appeared. Jokes Beast Boy had made, the time he'd gone into her mind… all the times she'd looked past his shields and comforted him, and the times he'd been there for her… "I'm going to miss all of you…" Raven looked back at him and smiled. "That includes you Beast Boy. You're my friend, I'll even miss your _occasionally _funny jokes…" For one of the few times since he knew her Beast Boy could see the emotions in her eyes… as she pulled him into a hug. "Good bye Beast Boy…" The background started to turn to black before Beast Boy regained his mind from shock.

"My name's Garfield. Goodbye Rae… stay safe?"

She nodded as they separated and Beast Boy straightened up. The last thing he saw was the beginnings of a smile before being chucked out of her presence. With animal reflexes Garfield caught himself as he fell and landed on his feet… only to be thrown off by an explosion. The heat and light making him wince… through his tears…

* * *

With a green light enveloping her hands a young alien girl ran down a white corridor. An observer would have noticed her stumbling gait from lack of experience. Nevertheless no human could ever match her speed as she tore down the passageway, only concerned with one thing… the retrieval of her friend. The one she talked to when she was depressed or worried, one of the few people in the universe whose advice she trusted… her sister… 

Starfire gasped as a familiar black magic enveloped her… and withdrew, leaving her in a place she recognised very well.

"Wow… Titans Tower…"

Starfire turned at the voice.

"Raven?" the alien princess pulled her friend into a bone-crushing hug… or at least for pure humans. "Oh Raven! We were most worried! You were not at home for our return and then Robin said…" Starfire withdrew slightly as she remembered the accusations, her joy at finding her friend diminishing slightly.

"Starfire…" Raven looked into her friends emerald eyes. "Every thing he said is true Star…" The princess nodded, she could be more observant than most people realised. She already knew that Robins account was true and could see the proof in her friends eyes. With an intuition that crossed galaxies Starfire knew what her friend was going to do… and why they were talking…

"You're saying goodbye…"

Raven smiled slightly and nodded, her sorrow and joy evident in every move… or at least to a red haired alien.

"I will miss you… sister?"

"I'll miss you too Star. You will always be a sister to me… I could never ask for a better one."

"You are saying goodbye to the others ?"

"As we speak…"

Star took one last look as the Towers living room dissolved into a series of scenes from the past. The first time they'd meditated together, taking Raven shopping, contacting the underworld… She smiled at the empath as the many memories faded into darkness… and was thrown out of the vision. With joy for her friend still running through her veins Starfire stopped herself before hitting the ground, hovering only a few feet above it as Slades lair exploded. The shock wave and its heat left the alien unaffected, she didn't so much as blink as she watched the fire, her hair streaming behind her… and tears falling from her eyes…

* * *

Robin ran. Unlike his friends he harboured no thoughts… he couldn't trust himself to stay out of the way of his mission. There was only one thing that mattered. Finding Raven. Robin knew from experience that thinking would only bring back the pain he'd felt last time she'd disappeared… so instead… Robin ran. 

Lost in his own mind he barely noticed that his eyesight went dark for a brief moment… however the scene in front of him was more than enough to wake him from his daze. With a seconds warning Robin stopped moving… and came face to face with a blue caped empath that was looking around with a sorrowful expression.

Knowing that only the most important things would ever induce her to show emotion Robin also searched his surroundings. There was nothing… only darkness, as far as he could tell they weren't even standing on anything solid… yet he and Raven were clearly illuminated… The Boy wonder turned back to the sorceress, his expression confused. Like the others he was still dazed from the journey here and half believed it was a dream.

"Raven?"

She shook her head, her eyes down cast and body half turned from him. Her voice was filled with more emotion than he'd ever heard from the quiet empath and it tore at his heart that the emotion was sorrow.

"You don't have anywhere I can take you… there's no where that will make you feel secure or happy just by being there. I tried. I used every trick I know and everything I know of you. The circus has the worst memories, the Batcave was stifling, the Tower is duty… there is no place in your mind that holds only contentment." She sighed, the epitome of misery.

Robin walked towards her slowly, careful not to startle her with a litheness born from a lifetime of agility.

"Raven what's going on?"

At his cautious voice Raven shook herself from her trance and turned to face the teenage acrobat. She quickly noted that he still wore his costume… complete with the impenetrable mask. "I'm saying goodbye Robin,"

Robin stopped, mere inches from her as the blood drained from his face. In a voice that belonged to a far more pitiable figure the Boy Wonder asked her to retract her statement. "You're leaving us?"

The empath nodded, steeling herself against the wave of emotions coming from him that threatened to overwhelm her. "I'm leaving the Titans…"

She watched as his rage filled him, backing away from her as he snarled, "You're going with _him_!"

She could only watch, a silent witness to his pain. After the conscious effort needed to repair her mental barriers from his lashing anger she managed to answer. "Yes Robin. I'm going with Slade," she silently cursed herself as her answer was calmly delivered in her classic monotone. He deserved more than that.

Robin turned away in disgust. "How could you!"

Raven waited for a moment, desperately trying to regain the calm she'd felt as she talked to the others. For a moment the empty scene changed from mere blackness to the centre of a forest, the edge of a playground and the living room of Titans Tower. Silently Raven drew on her other fragments of personality for strength, she knew that saying farewell to Robin would be difficult but she had never expected him to lose such control over his emotions. Without knowing it, he was hurting her with his mere intensity. The lapse only lasted a moment and through his fury Robin didn't see it.

The sorceress approached him, her hands outstretched in a desperate gesture for peace.

"Robin…"

At her pleading voice he span around to face her, his voice raised in anger. "We need you Rae!" The Boy Wonder paused as the nickname brought back, neither of them noticed as their shared past played on around them. Robin stepped closer to her and tore a secret out of his soul, whispering it to her in a voice that echoed with pain, loss, and life. "I need you…"

This time Raven lost her temper. She stepped back from him, her voiced raised. "Robin this is what's best for _me_. Can't you see that? I care for all of you but…" her reprimand trailed off as she remembered what she was leaving behind.

Once more Robin closed the distance between them with a curt step. "That's it? You care for us? Raven do you have any idea how much you mean to us? We love you! You're Cyborgs little sister, the only one he feels he can open up to! When Starfire feels lonely or sad _you_ are the one she goes to! The one she _talks _to! If Beast Boy ever feels he's unappreciated _you're_ the one he trusts to tell him we need him! You keep us _sane_ Raven! Without you we're nothing! You're not just what keeps this team together… you're what keeps us together. We need you Raven… we… I… love you…" Robin placed her hands on hers and brought them from her sides to between their two beating hearts as she absorbed what he had said… and what he had meant.

With a soft sigh she shook her head, eyes still locked on his, behind the mask.

"Robin. You are the most noble human I've ever met. You have always known when I needed to be alone or when I needed the others, even if I didn't want them. And I… I love you too. But my choice is made." She stepped back from him, her hands once more falling to her sides. "You are not the only one in my heart and I chose him. I brought you here to say goodbye Richard. I will always hold you in my heart."

Ravens heart threatened to break as Robin looked after her with a grief-stricken expression.

"What would've happened if… I hadn't been so stubborn? If I hadn't left you in the Tower?"

Raven smiled slightly. "We would've defeated Rancid. You would've worked off some of your anger in the fight and sent the rest home… and we would have talked…"

He took a cautious step closer to her, desperate to know what could've been. "Would you have stayed?"

Ravens eyes dropped as she answered him with a whisper he barely heard. "… I don't know." Suddenly Raven looked up, panicked as she sensed what was happening. "You have to go now,"

Robin shook his head, confused. "What? Why?"

In time with their eternal dance Raven stepped back towards Robin, her eyes wide as she earnestly tried to convince him of the peril he was in. "The reason I brought you here is because time works differently. Slower or faster depending on the spell casters whim. But it doesn't stop! The hideout's about to explode! You have to GO!"

"I'm not leaving you!" he shouted as a terrible wind surrounded the two, forcing Robin away from the sorceress.

The last thing he saw of her was a gentle smile as she looked at him. Her whisper carried straight to him, seemingly unaffected be the gale. "That is not your choice… goodbye…"

Robin rolled as he hit the ground. With reflexes trained since he started to walk the former acrobat turned around. He was just in time to catch a brief glance of a large black raven, her soul self, and see the rest of his friends fall out of the bird before he was blinded by an explosion. Instinctively he turned away, realising only a second later that he'd miss her. With a moment to spare he forced his gaze back round and through the flames saw a fleeting glimpse of her black magic form before she was gone…

So many times in the past Robins mask had caught his tears… but not this time. He knew what it felt for his heart to break… but this was different. This time his heart had shattered… this time he had no tears…

With unblinking eyes the Boy Wonder stared at the place he'd last seen her from behind his mask. For what seemed like an eternity he stood there, slowly dying, until he felt a hand on his shoulder, and a deep yet strained voice give him a gently order.

"Come on man. It's over,"

The Boy Wonder didn't take his eyes off the flames to answer his friend in a voice more lost than Cyborg had ever believed possible. "But I'm not finished,"

The bionic teenager shook his head and sighed. "None of us are…"

* * *

A black raven let out a soft cry as she watched her friends walk away from the ruins. Each of them clearly showed their pain, yet all but one were determined to carry on, to accept her decision with grace. Raven felt tears run down her face as she watched Robin being led away from the flames, even without her empathic ability she could've seen how broken he was by the way he moved… his spirit that had first drawn her to him gone, hidden… 

She flew away as her friends moved out of sight, her glistening tears leaving a trail in the dawning morning.

Raven fell to the earth, her tears falling freely as the empath mourned. She cried for her home, her friends, her family… but most of all for Robin.

After untold eternities of pain Raven felt a presence. The other knelt at her side and from behind her sorrow Raven felt a pair of strong arms gently pull her into an embrace. She didn't resist… finding comfort against her rescuers chest. She felt her pain ease as the stranger ran his fingers through her hair and when the tears had stopped, when her despair had receded, she smiled slightly, not moving from his embrace.

He let her lie there for a few more minutes before talking to her in a voice that was no longer cold.

"Where do you want to go?"

"A forest… will you take me there?"

"Where ever you want. I'll show you the world Raven,"

The sorceress looked up at him, her purple eyes looking deep into his steel blue gaze.

"Do you love me?"

"Yes. For as long as I breathe and beyond. I will always love you… my Raven,"

"I love you Slade,"

The former villain smiled slightly, his heart pounding at her words. "Shall we go?"

"Yes…"

Still in each others arms the pair stood, neither of them needing to speak as Slade walked over to the side of the road and in an archaic manner opened the passenger door of the black convertible that was parked there. She smiled at his gentlemanly gestured before delicately stepping inside.

The slowly fading night stars sparkled over an ancient desert as the two immortals travelled down the dust worn road… each knowing that 'although roads are littered with many potholes and obstructions and one can easily get lost', every second of life is worth it if you choose… and choose well…

* * *

**A/N: All right I know I said that was the end but... I have an idea for a sequel... Here's the deal. _If_ five or more people review this chapter then I promise I'll write a sequel set several years down the road, ok? If not then no heartache, I will simply leave it as it is.**

**Sincerly yours, **

**A-Quest-of-Scales**


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